Members of community forum on Trayvon death call for change

Friday

Jul 26, 2013 at 12:01 AMJul 26, 2013 at 7:18 AM

Thursday night's forum was hosted by the local NAACP chapter and the Daytona Beach Black Clergy Alliance.

KATIE KUSTURASTAFF WRITER

DAYTONA BEACH — The 17-year-old Trayvon Martin who bought a can of Arizona Iced Tea and bag of Skittles before he was shot and killed may be gone, but to NAACP member Thaddeus Collins, boys like him are everywhere. "We need to teach our young men that it's very different being raised in this society," Collins said during a forum Thursday night at Greater Friendship Baptist Church. George Zimmerman was recently acquitted of a second-degree murder charge in Trayvon's death in Sanford, justifying his use of deadly force when he shot the teen as they struggled on a rainy night in February 2012. Martin's death and Zimmerman's acquittal have sparked rallies, meetings, marches and other gatherings all over the country. Thursday night's forum was hosted by the local NAACP chapter and the Daytona Beach Black Clergy Alliance, and moderated by Bethune-Cookman University senior policy adviser Claudette McFadden. Besides Collins, members of the forum included the Rev. L. Ronald Durham, president of the Daytona Beach Black Clergy Alliance, Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry, Daytona Times writer James Harper, B-CU Student Government Association Vice President Reuben Rifin, local NAACP president Cynthia Slater, B-CU provost and chief academic officer Makola Abdullah, attorney Eddie Bell and Daytona Beach Police Chief Mike Chitwood.McFadden's first question to the group was what they hoped to contribute to the discussion. Durham said he wanted it to be clear that Zimmerman should be held accountable, there is a problem with Florida's "stand-your-ground" law and there should be civil rights for all people. "We have not yet reached the dream that Dr. King talked about," Durham said. Henry wanted to stress the importance of looking at policy makers. "Policy makers respond to pressure," Henry said. "If the policies don't change, this event could easily happen again." Chitwood said he believes the stand-your-ground law is a problem, but what he really wants people to realize is the danger of allowing violence to flourish in the community by not speaking up with information about crimes. "We cannot allow our young people to be gunned down in the streets," Chitwood said. "It eats away at our souls." When McFadden asked the panel what profiling means to them and if they could cite an example, Bell said Volusia County was the birthplace of profiling and cited former Sheriff Bob Vogel's profiling methods against drug couriers on Interstate 95 when he served as a Florida Highway Patrol trooper during the 1980s. Bell followed that up with advice, which other panel members would echo. "Don't fight your legal battles on the street," Bell said. "We don't have to fight with them or get belligerent, but we have to hold them accountable for those things (profiling)." Pastor Kenneth Glasgow, brother of civil rights activist the Rev. Al Sharpton, arrived at the forum as part of the Walk for Dignity, a six-day walk from Jacksonville to Sanford put together by Southern community organizations, and addressed everyone in the church. "There is a change that's in the air and in the atmosphere," Glasgow said. "Stand in the way, and you will get run over."